Singer, The Review

"Singer, The" reviews

Movie

Singer, The

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2008-08-29 21:11:00

Rating

3.5/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

Fueled by powerful performances from real-life marrieds Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, El Cantante is the Latin version of Walk the Line--only with better music.

Story

Beginning as a black-and-white documentary, we meet Puchi (Lopez), the wife of salsa master Hector Lavoe (Anthony), who is reluctantly being interviewed. ''If you want someone else's version, then go get that,'' she quips to the documentary filmmaker. The film brightens to color when she reminisces about her two decades with the colorful singer from Puerto Rico. Puchi is a brash, outspoken woman, who knows the minute she meets Hector, he will become famous. And he does--rather quickly, too, after moving to New York and hooking up with bandleader and trombonist Willie Colon (Johnny Ortiz). Together, they revolutionize the sound and sensibility that redefined Latin music in the 1960s and '70s, becoming international sensations. But Lavoe also finds lots of other women and drugs along the way and ends up paying more attention to his vices than to his family, including his son, Tito, (Christopher Becerra). Puchi tries desperately to stop his downward spiral, but to no avail. Tragedy strikes when Lavoe dies prematurely in 1993 from complications related to AIDS.

Acting

Without a doubt, this is Lopez's most stunning and talented performances to date, her version of Salma Hayek's Frida or Madonna's Evita. The actress is captivating and gorgeous in every scene, even when she's crying or drug-addled. In the good, loving moments between Puchi and Hector, it's easy to see how the real-life couple may interact. As an actor, however, Anthony is harder to gauge because he is known more as a singer. Still, he fully embodies the well-known salsa star and gives it his all. Neither he nor Lopez should be overlooked when Oscar time rolls around. The movie is so dominated by this couple's dysfunctional relationship that hardly anyone else is even noticeable—except for maybe Ortiz, who does a fine job as the guy who's like a brother to the singer but also spiraling out of control just as much as Hector.

Direction

Director/co-writer Leon Ichaso was handpicked by producers Anthony and Lopez. Ichaso, best known for writing and directing Pinero, another Latin hero who falls on hard times. To string the story together, he allows the documentary style to interrupt the memories of Lavoe's life. He creatively uses settings in Puerto Rico and Manhattan and recreates incredible musical performances, including one at Madison Square Gardens, which Puchi describes as the highlight of their lives. The music and dancing makes it impossible to avoid tapping a foot or nodding to the music, but the best moment of El Cantante is when singer Ruben Blades stages the actual moment he first sang ''El Cantante'' to his friend, Hector Lavoe. It'll give you shivers.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 3 1/2 stars.

Movie

The Singer

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-09-21 14:40:41

Provider

MRIB

Review

Alain Moreau (Gerard Depardieu) is a dancehall singer who has long resigned himself to settling for the respect of his audience at the expense of something more profitable. He sings the songs that everyone wants to hear, ensuring that singles have a soundtrack to their tireless search for romance, well aware that he, too, is one of them.

One day a beautiful blonde, Marion (Cecile de France), who's half Alain's age, walks into the dancehall with Alain's estate agent friend, Bruno (Mathieu Amalric). Immediately attracted to her, Alain tries to talk her into finding him a flat. At first she shows little interest in Alain but, slowly, his weakness for self-deprecation persuades Marion to spend the night with him, after which she disappears before he awakes.

Undaunted, Alain decides to pursue Marion, who has a young son from a previous relationship and who is reluctant to succumb to his charms. Nonetheless she continues to meet up with him on the pretext of finding Alain a new flat, the bond between the pair increasingly pronounced despite the fact that Alain is loath to start afresh and turn his back on the only job he knows.

The relationship between an older man and a younger woman has long been a staple of cinema. Here, though, both characters are more complex than usual, with Depardieu, especially, delivering a performance that's among the greatest of his 40-year-long career.

Singer, The Review